I.   Background

We Effect is a development organisation founded by the Swedish cooperative movement in 1958 to support the development of democratic organisations and societies. In our international development cooperation programmes, we are applying a human rights-based approach to support people living in poverty to secure their rights.

We Effect operates through regional offices in 20 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, collaborating with local CSOs, farmer organizations, cooperative federations, and other democratic organizations. For more information see www.weeffect.org.

We Effect Regional Office for Europe was established in 2017 in Skopje, North Macedonia. Europe region is supporting 10 partner organisations in the region under the “Europe Programme 2023-2027”. The support is directed at North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Moldova.

With financing from Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), a project for rural development aiming for a Market System Development (MSD) approach is being implemented in North Macedonia: Income Increase and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups from Rural and Sub-Urban Areas 2021–2023, IISEE, in collaboration with (at this stage) 1 national organization in North Macedonia – National Federation of Farmers (NFF).

The main outcomes of the project are:

Outcome 1. Rural enterprises, small farmers/producers grow and provide more income and employment opportunities for the people from the rural area, women, and youth in particular

Outcome 2. Local communities are resilient and sustainable, providing support in rural development, especially for poor members of the communities in the selected market systems

Outcome 3. More Roma people have the capacities and the access to the job market, to take up employment and business opportunities in the selected market systems.

Outcome 4. Organisational development.

    II.  Objective, scope of the assignment and main tasks

The main objective of the assignment is to assess the programme's success and confirm early signs of the impact, and to identify lessons learned (which can be used for a possible next phase of the project).

Based on the proposed methodology, the consultant will conduct a mid-term review of the project and deliver interim report covering the period of April 2021-August 2023.

The midterm review will integrate a clear set of recommendations with list of options for improved project results. The consultant will assess the alignment of the undertaken interventions with the needs of the target groups of the project and the core values and principles of We Effect as an international development organization:

-          Gender Equality

-          Rights Based Approach

-          Climate Justice

-          Conflict Sensitivity

The midterm review should include (but not limit to) the following:

• Collecting relevant data to analyse the extent to which the project outcomes and results and  have been successful.
• Provide independent assessment of the mid-term projects achievements, strengths and identify the problems and constraints that have been encountered from the start of the implementation of the project to date.
• Analyse the process of implementation from the perspective of participation of the right-holders, members of the rural communities and the partner organisations and analyse the changes that have occurred within the right-holder households and the targeted communities.`
• Assess the need and relevance of a continuation of the project into a potential new phase.
• Conduct interviews with a sample of the market actors.

The IISEE Project has identified the following market systems and sectors of interventions in which it operates:

Mid-term review shall be conducted as a combination of desk and field research, implementing the following tasks:

The consultant will base the advisory support on desk analysis of the project documents, interviews with project staff and selected market actors.

In addition, the consultant will have a kick-off meeting with the Swedish Embassy in North Macedonia, to discuss the methodology and possible areas of interest from Sida side.

The following project documents for the above-mentioned desk analysis will be provided by the IISEE Project:

Ø  Project document

Ø  List of interventions, their current status and selected partners

Ø  Intervention concept notes, intervention plans (including result chains, business models, MRM plans)

Ø  IISEE Project Progress report(s)

Ø  Baseline survey report

Ø  IISEE Project result framework

Ø  We Effect Europe Regional Strategy 2023-2027

Ø  We Effect Global Strategy 2023-2027

These documents will be sent by IISEE Project to the consultant upon signing the cooperation contract and at least two weeks before field visits are organized.

   III.        Location of assignment

Desk research shall be performed at the residence location of the consultant, while the field research and debrief shall be performed in the selected locations in North Macedonia and in Skopje in the office premises of We Effect’s IISEE Project.

  IV.        Expected deliverables

·         Desk research findings and recommendations

·         Debrief workshop with the IISEE project team organised

·         Performance report and monthly time sheets

·         Interim (Midterm Review) Report

The Interim Report should include an abstract; executive summary; background of the local context and the activities being evaluated; the evaluation purpose and main evaluation questions; the methodology; the limitations to the evaluation; findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The executive summary should be no longer than 3 pages in length and summarize the purpose, background of the project being evaluated, main evaluation questions, methods, findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned. All findings, conclusions and recommendations will be consistent in reflecting gender equality,  rights-based approach, as well as environmental impact and conflict sensitivity perspective, providing an insight how the project has integrated these cross-cutting thematic focuses and identify the opportunities for improvement. The recommendations will be leveraged to directly guide the We Effect Europe Region staff and IISEE Project Team in strengthening programming, making necessary adjustments (if needed) and therefore, will need to be specifically tailored to We Effect and Partner Organisations. The Annexes to the report shall include, but are not limited to:

a.    All data collection and analysis tools used in conducting the review, such as questionnaires, checklists, and discussion guides; and

b.    All sources of information, properly identified and listed.

All documents shall be written in English.

    V.        Qualification Requirements

Key qualifications and competences of the Consultant include:

•            University degree in a field of relevance for the assignment (e.g. social sciences, economics, business, agroeconomics etc.);
•           Proven experience in external evaluation of programmes/projects based on Market System Development Approach
•           Experience in design, implementation and monitoring of economic development projects
• Proficiency in English

Additional merits

•           Ability and willingness to undertake the assignment with tight deadlines.
• Experience of working with Sida funded projects

  VI.        Duty travel & accommodation

Related to duty travel for this assignment, planned travels to and within North Macedonia, Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) and accommodation will be handled and covered directly by We Effect in accordance with its Policy on Duty Travel. Such expenses should not be included in the financial offer of the Applicant.

 VII.        Coordination & reporting

Planning, timing, implementation, and reporting of the activities will be in coordination with We Effect and IISEE project team and approved by the Project Manager.

VIII.        Time frames

The consultant will be engaged between 01 September and 31 October 2023.

The maximum estimated number of working days is 12 during the entire contracted period.

  IX.        Process of application

The Applicants should upload the following documents to Impactpool no later than 15th August 2023 by the end of working day 16:00 CET:

1)    Proposed methodology for implementation of the Mid-term review

2)    CV of the consultant who will be performing the assignment.

3)    Copy of Diploma(s) for completed university degree in a field of relevance for the assignment.

4)    Reference table of the consultant’s experience listing completed relevant projects/assignments with information on:

a.    brief description of the project / assignment (no more than 100 words);

b.    value of contract in EUR;

c.     donor/contracting party;

d.    year of realization;

e.    links to projects/activities reports.

5)    Financial offer for an all-inclusive daily fee expressed in EUR including all applicable local taxes (e.g. income tax, VAT, health and travel insurance, legal fees etc.)

6)    Declaration of relationships (signed).

The selected applicant will sign a Service Contract with We Effect.

    X.        Selection Criteria

Incomplete applications and applications received after deadline will not be considered. Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

Please note that the financial offer is all-inclusive and shall take into account various expenses incurred by the consultants during the contract period (e.g. fee and any other relevant expenses related to the performance of services, e.g. health and travel insurance, legal fees etc. etc.).

Best value for money principle will be taken into account by using a weighted scoring method to evaluate the combination of the applicants’ qualification (70%) and financial offer (30%).

When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the bidder whose application has been evaluated and determined as:

·         Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and

·         Having received the highest combined score out of a weighted technical and financial evaluation specific to the solicitation

Technical evaluation (70%):

The technical evaluation of the received applications will consist of:

·         Evaluation of educational background (10%)

·         Evaluation of professional experience (45%)

Ø  Evaluation of experience in external review of MSD programmes/projects (30%)

Ø  Evaluation of experience in design of economic development projects (5%)

Ø  Evaluation of experience in implementation of economic development projects (5%)

Ø  Evaluation of experience in monitoring of economic development projects (5%)

• Evaluation of the proposed methodology for the Mid-term review (15%)

Only the applicants who will reach the threshold of 60% (min 42 points out of 70) of the technical qualification will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial evaluation (30%)

The evaluation of the financial offers will be conducted in the following manner:

·         The offer with the lowest price shall receive the total of 30 points

·         The other offers with higher prices shall receive the respective score according to the following formula: 30 * (Lowest Price / Proposed Price).

Questions/needs for clarification can be sent on e-mail addresses presented in chapter XIII. Contact latest by 10th of August 2023 16:00 o'clock CET.

XI.        Terms of payment

The amount for this assignment will be indicated in the Service Contract and respective annexes. Payment will be made in one instalment upon submission and approval of the deliverables and documentation. Payment will be made via bank transfer.

 XII.        Declaration of relationships

Applicants are strongly encouraged to describe any present or past business or personal relationships with:

·         closely associated party from We Effect;

·         We Effect’s Regional Office in Skopje;

·         We Effect’s employees;

·         We Effect’s governing bodies; or

·         the co-facilitating organization (National Federation of Farmers).

A closely associated party (persons, physical or legal) as per We Effect’s definition is considered a person who has the possibility to exert control over, or significant influence on, the other person when it comes to financial and operative decision-making concerning an activity.

The purpose of the Declaration is to disclose relationship information which makes the application and evaluation process more transparent and supports the bids in their relevance according to conditions on the open market.

Declaring any relationship shall not disqualify the Applicant from the procurement but rather contribute to more transparent evaluation process.

XIII.        Contact

Communication related to this procurement can be obtained only via email to info_roeu@weeffect.org latest by 10^th of August 2023.

MISCONDUCT

If you want to alert We Effect on suspected discrimination, corruption or other serious misconduct during the procurement process, do not hesitate to use our Whistleblowing System.